By Ronan McLaughlin
A former pro rider with An Post-Chainreaction, Ronan McLaughlin continues to race in Ireland and also coaches cyclists through the coaching company - PanacheCoaching.com - he runs with former Team Sky rider and Vuelta stage winner Philip Deignan.
As non-cyclists (aka normal people) look forward to some hard-earned time off work to relax and enjoy time with family and friends over the Christmas holidays, us cyclists are looking forward to the Christmas “training block” and banking some big miles.
Although time off work or study can provide a great
opportunity to bank some extra miles, we need to avoid some common pitfalls.
Here at Panache Coaching we have been juggling the
festive training goals with real world commitments for a combined total of
nearly 40 years.
In that time, we have had successful festive training
blocks and other ‘not so successful’ years. We have tried everything from using
our very own de-icer (urine) on our cleats just to be able to clip back in and
pedal back home all the way to wintering in Australia and riding 200+km on St
Stephens Day alone.
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Here is some advice based on what we’ve learned from our experience over the years…
Intensity or duration, but not both
The temptation over the festive period is to ramp up the
time spent on the bike given the additional time available. There is now also a
shift towards more intensive training styles in the winter months.
Where we have seen athletes trip up at this time of year
is in trying to retain intensity at the same time as training for longer
periods over the holidays.
This can be a recipe for disaster, especially here in the
northern hemisphere with the typical cold, wet and dark days.
If you want to increase your duration and make the most of the extra training time available, then you should consider cutting back on the amount of intensive work you do.
Wrap up well. Every time
The old saying goes that there is no such thing as bad
weather, just the wrong clothing. When it's cold and wet outside and you plan
to get a nice long ride in, be sure you dress appropriately for the conditions.
Studies have found that the cold doesn’t have much impact
on our ability to perform sub-maximal efforts. However, it can increase muscle
breakdown and damage, even with the slightest drop in muscle temperature.
For that reason thermal tights, a good base layer, a winter
jacket and gloves should be standard at this time of year. We also recommend a
thermal hat for all winter rides.
A lot of our body heat can escape through our head so you
need to trap in that heat where possible. A personal must for me is to have my
ears and neck covered; all that cold air and wind chill blasting off bare ears
is a recipe for disaster.
I wouldn’t venture out in the winter without a neck
warmer, a thermal cap which covers the ears and a high collar jacket and/or gilet.
We often also get asked to recommend good gloves and overshoes
for winter. Our experience here suggests that no matter how good your gloves
and overshoes are, if the rest of you is cold then you’re fighting a losing
battle.
We recommend you focus on keeping your core warm. Again,
this can be achieved with quality thermal and wind blocking base layers,
jackets and gilets.
One word of caution; winter and wet weather clothing
typically tends to be available in dark colours. At this time of year it’s not
only cold and wet but it’s also quite dark so you need to consider the
visibility of any winter/rain garments you’re wearing.
If they are quite dark then compliment them with an extra light and/or reflective accessories.
Route selection
If you live near the coast, routes often offer milder temperatures
at this time of year; something worth considering when planning your route.
But whether you live near the coast or not, you should carefully
consider your route at this time of year.
Mountain roads tend to be much more treacherous in
winter, for example. The extra altitude, even if only a hundred metres, can
make all the difference when it comes to the quality of road surface and risk
of frost and ice.
There is only one tip we can give to avoid crashing on frost
or ice: don’t go outdoors if it’s frosty or icy.
As endurance athletes the thought of missing a session
can seem like a total disaster. But this is when we need to think longer term.
The risk of venturing out to get that one session done
only to end up potentially missing weeks or months as the result of a nasty
crash is just not worth it.
Better to miss one day than weeks or months because you’ve
crashed and injured yourself.
The same applies if you're feeling under the weather or
there is a bug in the house. It’s easy to measure how many days we miss as a
result of getting sick.
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What is much more difficult - indeed impossible - to measure is how many days you didn’t miss as a result of erring on the side of caution and skipping one day or staying indoors.
Turbo is your friend
Modern indoor training options are such a great
substitute for training outdoors. The days of staring blankly at a wall as you
pedal away on the turbo or rollers are long gone.
We now have the ability to meet our training goals for a given day without even leaving the house.
We should try to make the most of these options rather than risking the great outdoors when conditions are treacherous.
"No plan survives the first enemy contact"
Many leaders have been credited with this quote and it is
especially useful to remember when considering your festive training period.
Yes, you most certainly should plan out your training but remember the plan is
just a plan.
You will most likely need to make adjustments at some
stage. There are a lot of other commitments and unexpected obstacles to
training that crop up at this time of year.
Sometimes sticking rigidly to a plan can be to our
detriment. Make your plan, stick to it as best you can but when the obstacles
spring up - family gatherings, nights out, bad weather - then be prepared to be
adaptable.
Again, being able to step back and see the longer term picture is the key. Missing one day or altering a session will have no impact on your progression. But burning the candle at both ends or coming down in icy conditions will have a major impact on your goals for next year.
Factor family into you plans
Most of us only have a limited time to train and a
limited amount of leeway from our significant others at this time of year.
Don’t spend all their good will and understanding in a single
one-week block. It’s smarter to spend time with those that matter most to you
this Christmas.
And keep that goodwill for when you need it in the New Year; when you want to go to races or sportives in far flung places.
Morning after the night before
Late nights and alcohol are common over the Christmas period.
Enjoy your night out socialising with friends and family but err on the side of caution. At the very least, postpone the next day’s training until the afternoon.
This will give your body the chance to recuperate and recharge after the late night and therefore decrease the risk of getting sick.
Speak to your coach
If you have a coach (unsurprisingly we recommend you do) speak with them in advance and make sure they are aware of your plans to increase training load.
A good coach will be able to help you maximise this period without over doing it.
TLC for your steed
We wrote earlier in this piece about the importance of
dressing for the conditions, but you also need to prep and maintain your bike
around these hardier days outdoors.
In our opinion mudguards are every bit as essential as
your winter clothing. Being dressed from head to toe in the best of kit is not
much use if you're getting soaked by the spray from your tyres.
Your back will be soaked, your shoes soaked right through
and it won’t be long until you are badly suffering the cold and all the while
destroying that fantastic, often expensive, kit.
Our group rides have a number one rule - no mudguard no
ride. At the very least it’s a case of ‘if you have no mudguards you must sit
at the back’.
Nobody enjoys getting sprayed in the face by the rooster
tail from the wheel in front of them. More importantly, with the mixture of
salt on the roads and run off from fields this spray can be a toxic mix for
both rider and bike.
Do yourself, your bike and everyone in your group a favour and contain all that nastiness within a set of mudguards.
Have fun
This our golden rule, even for the most professional of
athletes. We need to enjoy what we are doing to be able to do it consistently.
And consistency is the key to all success, especially in cycling.
We all love the idea of ramping up our training load and
for many of us this is our version of fun. The bike and your Christmas training
should still be fun.
So pay some attention to the mental strain of all this
extra training and take steps to ensure you don’t spend all your mental energy
for the coming year in one short period around the holidays.
This could mean that instead of doing a solo ride with
structured training you might just fancy joining the local group ride instead.
Or it could be a case of throwing the plan out the window and smashing yourself on Zwift instead. It’s ok to deviate from the plan every now and then.
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